The Relentless 45-Minute Fight By Dentist To Save flydubai's Hero Pilot

Tel Aviv: Israeli dentist Shota Musaev was just an ordinary passenger when he boarded the fateful flydubai flight FZ1073 last week. But his quick thinking and professionalism turned him into a hero after he treated the badly wounded pilot Smit Machchhar as the aircraft was diverted to Saudi Arabia following the Omani co-pilot's apparent attempt to hijack and crash the aircraft with over 170 passengers.The Indian pilot suffered a skull fracture and deep cuts on his hands and neck after the first officer, Hamam al-Hammami, attacked him with an emergency crash axe inside the cockpit of the Tel Aviv-bound flight, surviving only through the relentless, 45-minute intervention of a dentist on board.Talking to ABC News, Musaev, who was the only doctor on the plane, said he used makeshift pressure dressings and ice packs to stabilise Machchhar, whose pulse had dropped dangerously low.Machchhar, who has been hailed as a "hero" by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is making "steady progress" and is "regaining his health" at a hospital in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).Musaev said he rushed towards the cockpit after hearing screams and helped restrain the attacker first before treating the badly bleeding captain."I think, how (can) I help this situation for all (the passengers for all plane). How can I help?" he said. "And I see one pilot on the floor, with...blood."Another passenger, Yaniv Hayun, dragged the suspect from the cockpit, took control of the plane and levelled it before a third pilot took control of the flight.Once the attacker was overpowered, Musaev said he quickly turned his attention to the pilot, who was bleeding from wounds to his head, neck and hands. Musaev said he began applying pressure to the wounds to stop the bleeding.Speaking to The National from Holon, a city south of Tel Aviv, the dentist said, "There was heavy bleeding from his head and left hand."He said he used T-shirts to press the wounds, but the bleeding didn't stop. "I asked the stewards for ice.""He had very, very deep cuts and we needed many ice packets. But every time I opened the T-shirt to check the bleeding, it would bleed more. So I pressed not very hard and with ice. All through the 45 minutes, I kept the pressure on," Musaev said."I told him, 'Please don't sleep, we need you.' I asked how many children he had, their names. I kept telling him, 'Don't be afraid, you will go back to your family, we are landing soon,'" he added.Musaev said the pilot gave his name and age, said he lived in Dubai and was from India, and asked for help to ease his pain."Everything will be good," Musaev told the pilot. "He said to me, 'Help me, please. Help me, please. I don't want to die here.'""He was cut badly and would say, 'I'm feeling hot on my hands.' I kept telling him that he would be OK," Musaev said.The dentist then propped up Machchhar's feet when his vital signs deteriorated."At one time, his pulse was too low, so I put his feet up, and the pulse came back. When I saw his lips were blue, I told the steward, 'We need to land quickly. He doesn't have much more time'," the dentist said.In videos circulated on social media, Machchhar can be heard asking for painkillers. Musaev said he gave him small sips of water and decided against administering pills because of the heavy bleeding."He was lying on his back, and I hesitated to lift him because I didn't want rebleeding. It was dangerous to move him or give him medicines. The stewards wanted to give him medicine, but I didn't agree."He constantly monitored Machchhar's vital signs to keep him alive. "If he talks, does not sleep, his pulse, the colour of his lips - these were the indicators I had," Musaev said.He said that for nearly 45 minutes the plane was in the air following the attack, a small group of passengers kept scanning and checking for more terrorists till their landing in Saudi Arabia.Once in Saudi Arabia, Musaev handed the captain over to doctors on the ground with a quick farewell: "Good luck, my friend. Everything will be good.""Smit saved our lives. Smit is a hero and I thank him for everything he did to save my family and all the passengers. It's karma, he saved our lives, and we saved his life," the dentist added.On Tuesday, the Indian Embassy in the UAE said that Machchhar "continues to make steady progress and is regaining his health."